Michael Dailey is a broadly experienced litigator who has presented and defended cases throughout the United States. He has handled cases of first impression, such as DCA v. SoftKlone Distributing Corporation, in which the copyright status of computer screen displays was first established. He litigated the proper basis for overturning arbitration awards issued in Georgia and in the process prompted the Georgia General Assembly to enact legislation upholding Mr. Dailey’s courtroom contentions. Mr. Dailey has handled disputes involving health care, global positioning, and voice recognition technologies. He has brought copyright infringement actions on behalf of authors and developers of books and software. And he has helped companies thwart the unlawful intentions of departing senior executives who secretly took with them tens of thousands of computer files and confidential technical and marketing data.

Mr. Dailey previously served as General Counsel for a Y-2K software service provider.

Mr. Dailey is equally concerned with the rights and interests of individuals. He has successfully defended corporate executives charged with violating non-competition agreements and other restrictive covenants. He has assisted terminated employees recover pension and profit-sharing benefits, earned commissions, and contract compensation that was due to them. He has sued employers who have engaged in racially discriminatory and sexually harassing conduct.

Mr. Dailey regularly takes cases on behalf of persons too poor to retain legal counsel, and he does so as an advocate for the Gwinnett County Pro-Bono Project and the Georgia Lawyers for the Arts.

Eager to be outdoors as much as possible, Mr. Dailey is a hiker, amateur mountaineer and runner.

Featured Experience

During his career, Mr. Dailey has:

  • Handled a case of first impression addressing copyright protection of computer screen displays;
  • Negotiated a $300,000 sexual harassment recovery without even filing suit;
  • Secured, within 8 days of suit having been filed, a $1.5 Million securities recovery against a major software services provider, on behalf of a group of founding company shareholders;
  • Won a settlement in the amount of $825,000 – the precise amount sued for – on behalf of a commissioned salesman suing one of the world’s biggest and best known technology service providers;
  • Recovered $2.2 Million in a trademark infringement and trademark dilution action against one of America’s largest magazine and newspaper publishers;
  • Successfully defended a software developer at trial from $3.5 Million in asserted damages stemming from claims for misappropriation of program code and design;
  • Secured a verdict exceeding $20 Million against a group of defendants who utilized a variety of off-shore companies to conceal their unlawful operations.
  • Successfully defended a multi-state medical practice from dual contract claims of $16.53 Million and $15.62 Million, respectively.

Recognitions

Mr. Dailey is an AV Preeminent Lawyer – the highest rating issued for legal ability and ethical standards by the LexisNexis/Martindale-Hubbell peer review service.

From 1982 to 2002, Mr. Dailey was an Instructor in the Emory Law School Trial Techniques Program.

Mr. Dailey has been an Arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association since 1988 and has heard and decided some 60 arbitration cases.

Mr. Dailey is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a Member of the CIArb European Branch.

Education

Emory University School of Law
J.D. Degree – 1977
Founder – Joint Committee On Law And Medicine

Duke University
A.B. Degree – 1973
Member, Chancellor-Provost Search Committee
Member, Nominating Committee, Board of Trustees
Federal Relations Assistant, Office of the President

Admissions

State Bar of Georgia – 1977

Supreme Court of Georgia – 1977

Georgia Court of Appeals – 1977

Supreme Court of the United States – 1991

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit – 1978

United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit – 1981

United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia – 1980

United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia – 1996

Publications

“Whelan Associates, Inc. v. Jaslow Dental Laboratory, Inc.: Towards A New Understanding Of Copyrightable Expression,” Parts I and II. European Intellectual Property Review (1986)(1987) (Co-author: Henry L. Jones, Jr.)

“Digital Communications Associates, Inc. v. SoftKlone Distributing Corporation, et al.:
The ‘Look and Feel’ of Copyrightable Expression,” European Intellectual Property Review (1987)

“Interim Measures Available To U.S. Litigants: The Early Bird Gets The Worm,” European Intellectual Property Review (1988)

“For Those Who Live In Glass Houses: Apple Computer, Inc. v. Microsoft Corporation And Hewlett-Packard Company,”
European Intellectual Property Review (1990)

Speaking Engagements

Speaker, State Bar of Georgia, Computer Law Section, Annual Seminar 1988

Speaker, State Bar of Georgia, Computer Law Section, Annual Seminar 1989

Speaker, Seattle Computer Law Conference, December 1990

Speaker, New York Computer Law Conference, June 1991

Speaker, Second Annual Seattle Computer Law Conference, December 1991

Speaker, Information System Consultants Association, Atlanta, May 1992

Speaker, Third Annual Seattle Computer Law Conference, December 1992

Speaker, Fourth Annual Seattle Computer Law Conference, December 1993

Speaker, Fifth Annual Seattle Computer Law Conference, December 1994

Speaker, Sixth Annual Seattle Computer Law Conference, December 1995

Speaker, Seventh Annual Seattle Computer Law Conference, December 1996

Speaker, Representing High Tech Companies, Denver, December 1995

Speaker, Representing High Tech Companies, Denver, December 1996

Speaker, Representing High Tech Companies, Denver, December 1997

Speaker, Representing High Tech Companies, Denver, December 1998

Speaker, AAA Arbitration Policy Issues, Atlanta, December 2001

Speaker, CILS International Arbitration Conference, Salzburg, Austria, June 2004

Speaker, Financing Emerging Growth Companies/JOBS Act, Atlanta, October 2012

Speaker, International Trade Law & Dispute Resolution, Iranian Central Bar Ass’n, Tehran, April 2013

Honors and Awards

Theatrical Outfit
Sanger Award – 1990

Leadership Gwinnett
1991-1992

Robert C. Lower Outstanding Volunteer Award
Georgia Lawyers for the Arts (2005)

Benjamin T. White Distinguished Service Award
Georgia Lawyers for the Arts (2007)

Fellow, Chartered Institute Of Arbitrators (2013)

Fellow, American Bar Foundation (2014)

Community Involvement

Theatrical Outfit, Board of Directors (1984-1994), President (1987-1989)

ChildKind, Inc., Board of Directors (1993-1994)

Actor’s Express, Board of Directors (1990-1996), Vice President (1992-1993)

Duke University Drama Advisory Board (1993-1995)

Duke University Development Council (1993-1995)

Big Trees Forest Preserve, Inc., Board of Directors (1993-1994), President (1994)

Gwinnett Ballet Theater, Inc., Board of Directors (1992-1995), President (1993-1995)

Mexican Center of Atlanta, Board of Directors (1996-1998)

Earth Share National, Board of Directors (2002-2006), Executive Committee (2004-2006)

Earth Share of Georgia, Board of Directors (2006-2013)